Sulphur compounds are often considered to be undesirable compounds in gas mixtures and other fluid streams. The most common example of this is that of natural gas containing hydrogen sulphide. Natural gas may also contain as undesirable sulphur compounds, quantities of carbonyl sulphide, carbon disulphide, mono and dialkyl sulphides, alkyl-type disulphides and thiophenes.
The removal of such sulphur-containing compounds from gas streams has been addressed by a number of methods in the past. These methods generally rely on direct reactions with the sulphur compounds, or proceed to first separate the sulphur compounds from the gas stream by an absorption stage. In the latter case, the sulphur and other constituent elements of the absorbed compounds must then be extracted, if the absorptive medium is to be regenerated. A particularly desirable regenerative process would be one which produces elemental sulphur from the same reaction bed.
Various systems have been explored with the view of removing hydrogen sulphide from gas streams and producing elemental sulphur. The Claus process, as currently applied, is a complex multi-stage system involving the absorption of the hydrogen sulfide in an amine absorbent, followed by the burning of part of the hydrogen sulfide to sulfur dioxide, and subsequently reacting the hydrogen sulfide with the sulfur dioxide to produce the sulfur product.
It would be obviously desirable to provide a method for removal of hydrogen sulphide and other sulphur containing compounds from a fluid stream at ambient temperatures followed by the subsequent conversion at moderate temperatures of the sulphur compounds into elemental sulphur and other decomposition products.